Patent Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Is Apple's ongoing legal battle with Samsung worth the trouble?

by Yoni Heisler (May 7th, 2013)

When Steve Jobs first introduced the iPhone at Macworld 2007, he elicited quite a few laughs when he exclaimed, "... and boy have we patented it!" Two years later, starting with its 2009 suit against Nokia, Apple's patent infringement lawsuits began piling up in quick succession. Since then, ...

EU finds that Google's Motorola abused its patent power in seeking an injunction against Apple

by Yoni Heisler (May 6th, 2013)

The New York Times reports that the European Commission issued a preliminary finding which holds that Motorola abused its patent power in seeking an injunction against Apple in Germany for alleged patent infringement. The EU investigation was precipitated by complaints from Microsoft and Apple ...

ITC invalidates Motorola proximity sensor patent in suit against Apple

by Yoni Heisler (Apr 23rd, 2013)

With all of the Samsung vs. Apple conflict in the courts, one could be forgiven for losing track of the fact that Apple has a lingering patent dispute with Google's Motorola Mobility subsidiary as well. Bloomberg is reporting that the US International Trade Commission (ITC) recently upheld a ...

Apple claims that Google's search methodology in ongoing legal dispute is flawed

by Yoni Heisler (Apr 22nd, 2013)

While Apple emerged victorious in its patent suit against Samsung last summer, the two tech behemoths have another trial looming concerning Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone along with a slew of other Samsung devices. Consequently, 2014 will see both Apple and Samsung take center stage yet ...

Daily Update for April 5, 2013

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Apr 5th, 2013)

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player ...

German Court finds Apple's 'slide to unlock' patent invalid

by Yoni Heisler (Apr 5th, 2013)

Germany's Federal Patent Court on Thursday invalidated all of Apple's claims for its slide to unlock patent. The news comes courtesy of Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents who was in the courtroom observing the proceedings in question. Samsung and Google's Motorola Mobility have just scored a ...

Apple files patent for app access on lockscreen

by Mike Schramm (Apr 4th, 2013)

Apple has filed a patent for something I would love to see implemented in a future iOS update: Quick access to certain apps directly from the iPhone's lockscreen. Patently Apple says that the patent application outlines a system of rotating the "slide to unlock" slider on iOS' lockscreen ...

Apple patents system that lets iTunes users loan, resell their content

by Michael Grothaus (Mar 7th, 2013)

Apple has been awarded a patent that, if ever implemented, would be a dream come true for iTunes users. The patent titled "Managing access to digital content items" was discovered by AppleInsider and details an implementation that would allow iTunes users to loan or resell items they purchased ...

Judge Koh reduces damages in Apple v. Samsung case by $450 million, orders new trial

by Randy Nelson (Mar 1st, 2013)

There's been a significant development in the court case that saw Apple awarded US$1.05 billion in damages last August. According to The Recorder, Judge Lucy Koh has ordered that the amount Samsung must pay Apple be reduced by $450 million, or almost 40 percent, and that a new trial be held to ...

Apple ordered to pay VirnetX $363K daily in patent dispute

by Randy Nelson (Feb 27th, 2013)

Here's one way to force two warring companies to hash things out. A federal judge has ordered Apple to cough up more than US$360,000 daily to VirnetX until the two can come to an agreement on the former licensing four of the latter's patents. The penalties stem from a verdict delivered in ...

Apple, Samsung case in Australia warrants two-judge system

by Kelly Hodgkins (Feb 25th, 2013)

Samsung and Apple have been battling in the Australian court system for almost two years. According to a report in Financial Review, the infringement claims have gotten so complicated that the court system has taken a radical move to simplify the hearings. For the first time in Federal Court ...

German court issues stay in Samsung's VoiceOver suit against Apple

by Randy Nelson (Feb 22nd, 2013)

Hello there, it's Friday and time for your regularly scheduled update on the continuing courtroom hijinks between Samsung and Apple! Today we bring word via FOSS Patents that a German court has stayed one of the approximately 200 million cases (give or take a few) brought by the former against ...

Apple's 'microslot antennas' could embed antennas into iPhone's casing

by Michael Grothaus (Feb 12th, 2013)

An interesting patent has been uncovered that shows Apple is working on a way for integrating a device's antenna directly into the body of the device. The patent "Microslot antennas for electronic devices" was first discovered by AppleInsider and granted to Apple on Tuesday. The patent ...

Samsung: battle with Apple 'a loss' for innovation

by Michael Grothaus (Feb 12th, 2013)

Samsung Executive Vice President David Eun has told All Things D's Kara Swisher that the legal battles between his company and Apple have been "a loss" for innovation. He made the comments at the D: Dive Into Media conference on Monday. He did acknowledge that Samsung makes money off of every ...

Apple seeks patent for unlocking devices by identifying contact photos

by Randy Nelson (Feb 11th, 2013)

The brains in Cupertino have come up with a way to unlock your iPhone and other devices that's definitely a lot more novel than entering a passcode. In a patent application uncovered by Patently Apple, the company details a way to authenticate your identity by speaking the names of Address Book ...